Empty Stocking Fund Raises Over $183,000

November 29, 2016:

The 104th annual Empty Stocking Fund raised over $183,000. The Telegraph-Journal’s event is one of the oldest newspaper-sponsored Christmas appeals in Canada.

The tradition has humble beginnings; in 1912, a few nights before Christmas, Saint John reporter Harry (Dutch) Ervin saw two children looking at a department store display window from the street. He returned to the newsroom and collected $30. By Christmas Eve, the pot had grown to $700.

The Empty Stocking fund has grown to an annual telethon featuring children from the local community.

“This event is about Saint John and giving back,” said Henry Yates, Empty Stocking Fund Co-ordinator with the Telegraph-Journal. “I would like to thank all of our corporate sponsors, all of the volunteers and of course, the performers today. I’d also like to remind everyone to please honour your pledges.”

In 2015, 2,000 children in the Saint John and surrounding areas were helped by The Empty Stocking Fund.